Flu in Denver, Year 2003 - Toxicological Considerations (work in progress) - by Jim West - ww.geocities.com/harpub/flu2003.htm

December 16, 2003 - British Ignite Debate in U.S. on Drugs and Suicide (requires registration or subscription) - The New York Times

December 22/29, 2003 - New guidelines give specifics for pneumonia care - An update by the Infectious Diseases Society of America offers more detailed drug treatment recommendations for community-acquired pneumonia, while keeping an eye out for antibiotic resistance. - www.ama-assn.org

December 15, 2003 - The Nation's Top Scientists Speak Out on Mercury Pollution; New Research Suggests Delays May Be Harmful - Hubbard Brook Research Foundation via U.S. Newswire

December 17, 2003 - More parents reject MMR - www.femail.co.uk - "A record number of parents are shunning the MMR vaccine, heightening fears that children will be exposed to a major measles epidemic...In some areas, as many as four in ten children are not having the triple jab which is at the centre of concerns over a possible link to autism and bowel disease... Demand for single jabs is soaring as uptake of MMR has fallen to a new low of just 58 per cent in parts of London, Health Department figures reveal."

December 17, 2003 - Medical check-ups for children to be scrapped - The Scotsman - "Check-ups designed to detect conditions ranging from autism to co-ordination problems in children are to be scrapped under Scottish Executive proposals...The Executive aims to end formal check-ups at eight, 24 and 39 months for the majority of infants, because it believes they are not effective at identifying developmental problems...Instead, most parents will have to rely on the appointments when their children receive immunisation against diphtheria, polio and mumps, measles and rubella, to get health advice. These take place at three, four and 12-15 months and parents will also be offered appointments at 24 months if they have particular concerns they want to raise."
 

December 16, 2003 - Frist Hails Recommendations Of National Vaccine Advisory Committee - www.chattanoogan.com - "U.S. Senator Bill Frist (R-TN) today hailed recommendations to strengthen the nation’s supply of childhood vaccines made by the National Vaccine Advisory Commission (NVAC)."

December 17, 2003 - Strengthening the Supply of Routinely Recommended Vaccines in the United States - Recommendations From the National Vaccine Advisory Committee - journal article (JAMA)

December 9, 2003 - Chickenpox: why children's lives are at risk - http://aca.ninemsn.com.au  - "Chickenpox is a common condition, particularly among children. It's an illness synonymous with red, itchy spots all over the body, even the mouth, but few are aware just how serious this disorder can be. Today, ACA explores the dangers and why children's lives are being put at risk...'He gave us antibiotics, told us to give him a good bath in some oats or Pinetarsol to keep the itching down, just keep the fluids up and lots of bed rest.'...'In the end he [Jesse] was pumped up with adult drugs and we were told about an hour beforehand he was going to die and there was nothing they could do about it,' says Renay."

Comment:  Why was a child who had chickenpox, a virus, given antibiotics, which are only effective against bacteria? What adult drugs?  What else did they do that might have led to this child's demise?

December 10, 2003 - VCH Study Finds Deadly Pertussis Making a Comeback; new study begun - Vanderbilt Children's Hospital - "Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital researchers are alarmed by the deaths of four infants at Vanderbilt Children’s over the last year from pertussis, or whooping cough. Dr. Natasha Halasa, Clinical fellow, Pediatric Infectious Diseases and Dr. Kathryn Edwards, Vice chair of Clinical Research and Professor of Pediatrics have published an editorial in November’s The Journal of Pediatrics encouraging a change in the immunization schedule to better protect very young babies from the bacterial infection...Halasa’s study in December’s Pediatrics found even more disturbing information, that even the most advanced treatments for respiratory illness don’t appear to work effectively for infants with pertussis...The answer, Halasa says, is clearly prevention with a new immunization schedule...The main purpose of this study is to determine if it is safe to administer an additional dose of the pertussis vaccine in the first days of life and also to see if babies can mount an adequate immune response. If it is successful, Halasa hopes an eventual change in the immunization schedule might save babies’ lives."

December 21, 2003 - The Sound of Silence - by Lenny Schafer (with apologies to Simon and Garfunkle) - Schafer Autism Report

December 20, 2003 - Health officials offer advice on use of nasal flu vaccine - North County Times - "As with the flu shot, the mist's vaccine doesn't exactly match the flu virus that has sickened thousands throughout the state, so doctors don't know how well the mist protects against this year's flu...But the supply of flu shots has dried up in most areas, and health officials say the mist may be a good last resort for healthy people who want at least some protection against the virus..."It's not the best option, but if it comes down to preventing an epidemic, I guess it's probably better than nothing," said Bill Mastin, chief pharmacist for the agency."

Comment:  Not exactly a ringing endorsement. 

DAN! Mini Conference - sponsored by The Autism Research Institute - conference alert - January 17-18 in New Orleans, Louisiana

DAN! Spring Conference - presented by The Autism Research Institute - conference alert - April 16-18, 2004 in Washington, DC

Autism One 2004 Conference - Congressman Dave Weldon MD to deliver keynote address - conference alert - May 27-30, 2004 in Chicago, Illinois

December 21, 2003 - Canaries in the mine - Evidence of chemical effects on kids mounts - Scripps Howard News Service - The Gleaner via www.myinky.com - "At Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, Dr. Martha Herbert is seeing younger and younger children who have been prescribed powerful drugs because their behavior is 'so extreme.'...One 4-year-old was treated with Risperdol, an antipsychotic drug usually prescribed to adult schizophrenics, because she tried to kill a sibling. 'I've had several cases like that,' said Herbert, a pediatric neurologist. 'It's scary because this kind of thing hardly ever used to happen.'...Across the nation, evidence of a growing number of children diagnosed with attention, learning, behavioral and emotional disorders have perplexed doctors and researchers and worried teachers and parents....The disturbing conclusion some experts are reaching is that a significant share of these conditions may be caused by environmental toxins that interfere with brain development in children beginning in the womb and which may be lowering the intelligence of the population at large."